Overcoming ‘original sin’ to secure policy space

More than two decades after the emerging market crises of the 1990s, foreign investors are now active investors in emerging-market local-currency-denominated sovereign bonds. In this sense, emerging market governments have overcome ‘Original Sin’—the dictum that emerging market borrowers cannot borrow from foreigners in their own currency. However, although the borrowers no longer bear the risk of currency mismatches, the mismatch has migrated to the lenders’ balance sheet in the sense that investors evaluate gains and losses in terms of dollars or other major currencies. This paper examines the associated risks and potential remedies to financial stability risks stemming from this migration of currency mismatch from the borrower to the lender.